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[FM11] IK Tord - Becoming the best in Europe using only youth products

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I attempted a similar challenge with Dosthill Colts. I am going to attempt to make IK Tord the best team in Europe using only youth products. They are based in the Sweden Second Division East Gotaland. I chose them because they are predicted bottom of the league and I like the name (by like I mean it's one of the few Swedish teams I can spell correctly without having to check every time )

What wikipedia says about them:

IK Tord is a Swedish football club located in Rosenlund in Jönköping. The club was formed on the 10th September 10, 1919 and has specialised in football and baseball.

Since their foundation IK Tord has participated mainly in the middle divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club currently plays in Division 2 Östra Götaland which is the fourth tier of Swedish football. They play their home matches at the Stadsparksvallen in Rosenlund (Jönköping) while other club operations take place at Rosenlunds IP.

Sweden

At the moment Sweden are 24th in the European rankings which means 1 team enters the 1st qualifying round of the Champions League and 3 enter the Euro Cup, 1 team at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds.

The Swedish Second Division runs from March to September, there are 22 games (play each other twice). Top team is promoted while bottom two are relegated, 3rd bottom goes into a playoff.

The transfer windows are from 1st July - 31st July and 15th November - 31st March

League reset date - 1st December

Here is myyoutube channel, I will be uploading the odd goal depending on quality and/or the occasion. There are already few goals on there from my games on the demo as Chelsea and Hampton & Richmond.

Well, if your challenge proves too difficult, you can always try your luck in the Elitserien.

Good luck. Sounds like an interesting challenge.

If I can't do well with the football side of the club then I doubt i'll be good at the baseball side of things. Especially as I know next to nothing about the sport. Could give it a go I suppose, anyone got a copy of Baseball Manager 2011 I could borrow

Originally Posted by Romanista1994

Good luck! Your career with Hampton & Richmond was a very good read, but this sounds incredibly challenging.

Started off well with a thrashing of Marieholm although they are 2 leagues below us. But it all went downhill from there, managed to scrape a win against Gislaved from the league below before 2 late goals helped us secure a draw against Askims IK, also of the league below. The real tests would come in the last 3 friendlies where we would play 3 teams who also play in the 4th tier of Swedish football. Overall we were disappointing especially as we failed to score in all 3 of the matches. Looks like its gonna be a tough season.

League: Tord 3-2 KarlskronaTo be honest I wasn't too hopeful after our displays in preseason, especially on the attacking front but my players proved me wrong. We went 3-0 up in under 35 mins. The 1st goal of my reign was scored by central defender Markus Broman volleying home from a corner (I know its not a good goal but it was my 1st as manager so I uploaded it anyway). A powerful run and pinpoint cross by Yavuz down the left allowed Svahn to net our 2nd. Yavuz again turned provider for Svahn's 2nd just 11 mins later. We were cruising it until the last 10 mins where they gave me a good scare. Gustavsson unwittingly headed the ball into his own net despite being under no pressure. Then just 2 mins later in the 86th min they grabbed a 2nd but we hung on to get off to a winning start.

League: Tord 1-3 Motala AIFOur honeymoon period seemed to be continuing as we managed to take the lead against pre season favourites to win the league. A poor cross was fumbled by their keeper allowing Alexander Afzelius to tap into an empty net. Unfortunately we collapsed in the 2nd half, conceding 3 in 14 mins. It was a decent performance but in the end they deserved the 3 points.

League: Kenty 1-3 TordAccording to the media this was a relegation 6 pointer with Kenty being predicted 10th. We started off poorly and conceded after just 2 mins from a Rory Delap style throw in. But we hit back immediately Yavuz won and converted a penalty, a goal which his recent performances have deserved. Then just before half time we took the lead for the 1st time, a 35 yard free kick was whipped in, Svahn headed accross goal to Yavuz who pulled it back to Broman to power it home. The game was wrapped up just after half time as Yavuz claimed another assist when he set up Afzelius who calmly slotted it past the keeper.

League: Lindsdal 1-0 TordWe were awful, mustering only 1 shot in the whole game which was off target. Deserved to get beat by more than one goal really.

League: Tord 0-0 LjungbyReally need to finish these games off, 2 points lost in my eyes after a much better performance than last match. Our strikers were very wasteful but our defence was reasonably strong, easily dealing with some dangerous looking counter attacks.

League: Nybro 1-0 TordAgain it was our finishing costing us the result we deserved. Despite Nybro being one of the stronger teams in the division we were all over them in the 1st half and should have been 1 or 2 up. In the end it was those missed chances that cost us as they grabbed an 85th min winner.

League: Linkoping 2-1 TordThings were looking good in the 1st half and this time we actually managed to score. Dahlstrom headed home from 6 yards out after just 2 mins. We kept this lead until midway into the 2nd half when poor defending cost us 2 goals and all 3 points. What makes it worse is that they are one of the relegation favourites.

League: Tord 0-0 Hassleholm
We bombarded their goal for the whole match but couldn't find a winner as we slowly slip towards the drop zone.

League: Tord 1-1 VimmerbyMust win game against bottom of the table Vimmerby, unfortunately we didn't though. We played terrible in the 1st half and deserved to concede. To be honest 2nd half wasn't much better. We were saved by a fantastic goal by Afzelius: he ran almost half the pitch before unleashing from 25 yards to get us the equaliser we barely deserved. Despite the moment of quality things look bleak.

League: VMA IK 0-0 TordOur winless streak continues as we fail to beat the team 1 place above us. Not only did we fail to beat them we were lucky to get a draw. Thankfully their strikers seemed to have been taking lessons from our strikers.

League: Tenhult 1-0 Tord8 games without a win now, time to shake up the tactics. We played extremely well considering they were 2nd in the league. But the only shot on target in the whole match went in to give them the win. It doesn't help that our 1st choice keeper is out injured for 4 weeks and the only replacement is a 1/2 reserve keeper .

League: Motala AIF 3-1 TordWe didn't make it easy for the runaway leaders but in the end their quality gave them the edge. Dahlstrom did get us a goal back from a 25 yard freekick but it was nothing more than a consolation.

League: Tord 0-0 KentyLast win came against them unfortunately we couldn't repeat the act. We were the slightly better team but it was a game of few chances and neither team took any.

League: Karlskrona 1-1 TordPretty lucky to come away with a point here. Karlskrona missed a penalty in the 1st half before scorin 8 mins later. They then had numerous chances in the 2nd half to wrap it up but failed to do so allowing Petter Vibeke to steal us a point.

League: Tord 2-0 LindsdalWooo our 1st win in 12 games. For once we took our chances, Blixt and Azfelius scoring within the last 15 mins to give us a deserved win.

League: Ljungby 2-0 TordBack to normal now. We were completely outplayed and were lucky to keep it down to just 2.

I have also decided to add Johan Bystrom (YP2) to the 1st team as his potential has risen from 2 stars to 4. Either we are getting worse or he is getting better.

League: Tord 3-1 NybroWe pulled off a shock win against 3rd place Nybro. We seemed to get everything right in the opening 30 mins. The 1st goal came after 13 mins from a corner which bobbled about the box before Svahn prodded home. Just 5 mins later Azfelius took advantage of some poor defending by tackling their defender in the box and slotting it past the keeper. Our 3rd was a perfect example of a counter attack, Karlsson hoofed it long from the goal kick where Dahlstrom flicked it on for Blixt to run onto and finish expertly past the onrushing keeper. A comeback looked on when they got a goal back before half time but nothing ever materialised for them in the 2nd half.

League: Vimmerby 1-0 TordDisappointing result in a relegation 6 pointer which puts us right back into the relegation zone. They came out on top after a fairly even match. Gutting as we could do with winning this match as our run in isn't the easiest.

League: Tord 1-1 LinkopingGutting again, we really aren't getting any luck. We have to apparently clear penalty appeals waved away and to top it off they then take the lead from a counter attack of one of these penalty shouts. Petter Vibeke got 1 back early in the 2nd half for us which was little more than we deserved. Yavuz thought he had won us the match when he scored in the 81st min but he was ruled offside (which i'll grudging admit to).

League: Hassleholm 2-1 TordMade the worst possible start as we gave away a penalty in the 3rd min which was then converted. We responded well and Vibeke got a well earned equaliser in the 35th min. But the deciding blow came just before half time when a corner wasn't defended properly allowing them to retake the lead. Despite going more attackin gin the 2nd half we couldn't get another goal.

League: Tord 2-0 VMA IKJust when we needed a performance, we came flying out the blocks with Svahn hitting the bar after just 19 seconds but just 40 seconds later he had put us in front after good work from Azfelius left him with a simple tap in. This lead was doubled when Funck floated in an inch perfect cross which Heinonen headed home. It was more of the in the 2nd half but no more goals not that we were too fussed, we were just happy with the win.

League: Tord 0-2 Tenhult
Disaster as Tenhult have luck on their side and score twice in the 1st half despite us dominating. We continued to dominate in the 2nd half but the damage was done and we couldn't fight our way back.
The question is will this be enough to be safe from relegation?

Linkoping 1-1 Kenty
Vimmerby 2-2 Karlskrona

So into the relegation playoffs we go. It is a 2 legged affair, loser gets relegated/not promoted. Simples

Playoff Final 1st Leg: Ostria Lambohov 2-2 TordWe were let off the hook early on when Ostria missed a penalty then from the same passage of play Johan Bystrom (YP2) scored his 1st goal for the club making him the club's youngest goalscorer, and what a goal it was, a great strike from 30 yards. The lead lasted just 5 mins before Ostrai equalised. Then midway through the 2nd half they completed the comeback. We managed to get a crucial equaliser at the death, Dahlstrom's shot was blocked but fell perfectly into Johan Bystrom (YP2)'s path who made no mistake with the finish.

Playoff Final 2nd Leg: Tord (4) 2-0 (2) Ostria LambohovIt was our turn to miss a penalty in this leg. But Svahn quickly made amends for his penalty miss, he netted twice in 7 mins early in the 2nd half. Both headers from inside the 6 yard box but goals nonetheless. Ostrai never really got close to us this match and in the end we cruised to victory and sealed our place in the division for another year.

A very difficult season overall, after the 1st few games my hopes were high. They were crushed soon after as we slumped to an 11 game winless streak. We recovered in time to save ourselves from automatic relegation but for the 2nd half of the season we were constantly flirting with the playoff place. In the end it went down to the final day where unfortunately we lost meaning we had to ensure survival via a playoff.

Over the 2 legs we were undoubtabely the better team but we will need to improve next season to ensure we don't have to go through another playoff.

Player/s of the Season

A term used very loosely after the season we've had.

Markus Broman (DC) - Our best player by averaging rating, got a few goals early in the season to kickstart our campaign and was generally solid at the back.

Kim Karlsson (GK) - A major factor why we only conceded 25 in 22 games, one of the clubs best players but has asked to leave on a few occasions. I have handled it for now but its only a matter of time before he asks again.

Youth Players

Limited chances for both of them as my main aim was survival

Anton Alvefelt (YP1) (DR) - Was reasonably solid when called upon and with a few ageing defenders in the squad he will get plenty more chances.

Johan Bystrom (YP2) (ST) - Highlight of the season for him was grabbing 2 crucial goals in the playoff 1st leg. Hopefully he can push on next season from where he left off.

A rough first season, but you managed to survive. It looks like you were able to manage your finances fairly well. Will you be able to bring in some new faces for next season?

I would be making a loss if it wasn't for the (relatively) huge sponsorship money I recieve (£150K/year) which last season was around 3/4 of my total income. I am only going to be using youth players so no new signings but I will be getting some new staff in.

Board have already rejected my offer for better youth facilities.

Originally Posted by Romanista1994

Well done on surviving. Any good youth players come through for next season?

Not a very good batch this year, only 1 looks good enough at the moment but hopefully, like last year, some improve enough to earn themselves a 1st team place. Preferably a keeper of defensive mid. I will show screenshots of him in the pre season update which should come later today.

Tony Thoren (YP5) (DC) - Report - Is already good enough to play in the 1st team regularly or maybe as backup for an injury

Filip Linder (YP6) (GK) - Report - He was kind of forced into the 1st team as I only had 1 keeper left and even he was wanting to leave. Still not bad but we really do need a better keeper in the next few youth batches.

I also moved 2 players (Robin Ring (DC) and Linus Torstensson (MC)) up from the reserves to the first team just to make up the numbers really.

A slow start but we really picked up the highlight being the 6-0 demolition of Overgran. Only loss came to Swedish First Division Elite (2nd Tier) side Brommapojkarna.

Not only that but:Johan Bystrom (YP2) netted 4 in 5 in preseason. Thomas Jonsson (YP4) got 2 assists and a goal in his 3 appearancesAnton Alvefelt (YP1) played extremely well with an average rating of 7.16 from 5 appearances.

League: Tord 1-0 FC GuteA game of few chances, only one major one and that was a penalty. The penalty was for us and was scored by Robin Ring on his debut despite being at the club for 4 seasons. He was ruled out the whole of last season with cruciate ligament damage.

League: Vimmerby 1-1 TordApparently we were lucky to get a draw but actually we had the only clear chance of the game. Vimmerby took the lead in the 15th min via a header into the top corner. We were level before half time though, as Johan Bystrom raced through on goal he was tackled from behind by their defender, unfortunately for them the tackle knocked the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net. Fair result in the end I'd say.

League: Tord 3-1 NybroA very open game with many chances and for once luck was on our side. A Vibeke cross was turned in by Dahlstrom in the 11th min. Just after the half hour mark the lead was doubled and it was Vibeke's turn to score, he was put through on goal where he rounded the keeper and slotted into an empty net. The game was settled when Jonas Bystrom (YP2) scored from a 25 yard freekick making him the Second Division EG's youngest goalscorer. Nybro got a goal back late on but it was only a consolation.

Another great start to a season. More false hope or are we actually on to something here?

League: VMA IK 1-1 TordLooked like we would come away with nothing when VMA IK scored early on. But an injury time Johan Bystrom (YP2) strike gave us a deserved point.

League: Smedby 1-2 TordAgain we started off poorly and conceded the opening goal but this helped us pull ourselves together. Vibeke layed it off to Johan Bystrom (YP2), after a fantastic run, who tapped into an empty net. Then just after half time our keeper Karlsson hoofed it forward to Vibeke who found himself 1 on 1 with the keeper. He dodged the keeper and his shot deflected off a defender and into the net for an own goal.

League: Tord 4-1 LjungbyAfter slow starts in the previous few games we raced out the blocks in this. Vibeke continued his fantastic partnership with Johan Bystrom (YP2) by providing the latter with a great opportunity to score which he then did. Then a freak goal from left back Anton Alvefelt (YP1) whose cross lobbed the keeperand put us 2-0 up. 6 mins later it was 3-0 when Svahn set through Johan Bystrom (YP2) who finished it like a top striker. Svahn and Johan Bystrom (YP2) combined again this time Bystrom provided the assist for Svahn to score our 3rd in 8 mins. The 2nd half was a bit fo a disappointment, they got a goal back but it stayed 4-1.

League: Linkoping 2-1 TordWe were very unlucky to see our unbeaten run end here against the league's in form side. They took the lead in the 2nd min from an own goal. Then 5 mins before half time against the run of play they made it 2-0 with their 1st shot on target. Miodram Damjanovic (YP3) gave us hope with a goal early in the 2nd half but we couldn't get an equaliser.

Thanks I have FM 11 too watch on ebay so could buy 1 tomorrow so *hopefully* start sweden properly in the next week.
I finished the demo 7 points behind leaders Varbergs BOIS on 29 points....the disturbing thing is that 2nd last is on 19 points so still possible to get relegated, Tord are in 2nd last with 16 points

League: Tord 4-2 TenhultFinally managed to get one over against our fierce rivals. Isaac Blixt got us off to a flyer with a 20 yarder into the top corner after 6 mins. However we were pegged back just 3 mins later. After a frantic start things settled down until the hour mark when Vibeke and Johan Bystrom (YP2) combined with devastating effect (sounds familiar) to retake the lead. Again we couldn't hold the lead for a few mins as a misplaced backpass allowed their striker a clear run at goal, which he finished well. Then in the 78th min they gave away a penalty and got a straight red as well, Robin Ring converted it with ease. The game was wrapped up by Dahlstrom with a screamer from 25 yards that curled into the top corner.

League: Lindsdal 1-3 TordWent behind to Lindsdal's only shot on target in the whole game in the 16th min. It looked like it was going to be one of those days but for a couple of Johan Heinonan tap ins after great crosses from Vibeke and Johan Bystrom (YP2). Bystrom (YP2) then got himself on the scoresheet late on to seal the points after he latched on to a cross from, yep you've guessed it, Vibeke.

League: Tord 1-1 NykopingThought it would be a difficult match as it was 1st vs 2nd but we were all over them the whole match and in the end we really should have won it. Nykoping took the lead early in the 2nd half despite having hardly any of the possesion or chances. Johan Bystrom (YP2) got us an equaliser after a corner created some pinball in the box which he eventually managed to tap home.

League: Skovde AIK 2-0 TordOur 1st loss in 5 games and only the 2nd of the season and we deserved it. Also the 1st time this season where we haven't scored. The pre season promotion favourites attacked from the off, scoring within a minute. They could have had a 2nd in the 10th min but they missed a penalty. However they did eventually wrap it up midway through the 2nd half.

League: FC Gute 2-2 TordThis draw means we have equalled our points total from last season already. Still I was gutted about the reult as we had twice let a 1 goal lead slip. Isaac Blixt unleashed a 25 yarder to give us the lead but they equalised just 4 mins later. Then in the 63rd min Johan Bystrom (YP2) set up Svahn to retake the lead only for FC Gute to equalise 8 mins later.

League: Tord 0-1 VimmerbyA tale of 2 penalties unfortunately they were both awarded to Vimmerby. They missed the 1st one in the 23rd min but managed to scored the 2nd one in the 95th min. We really should have won this especially as they were down to 10 men for almost half the match.

League: Nybro 1-3 TordMakes up for last match as we definately deserved to lose this one. P.Linares whipped in a cross which their keeper spilled right into the path of Vibeke who tapped into an empty net. This lead was short lived as they equalised scrappily from a corner with the last kick of the 1st half. In the 2nd half Blixt put through Johan Bystrom (YP2) to score in one of our rare attacks. We defended for all we were worth before countering in the 95th min which saw Miodrag Damjanovic (YP3) score our 3rd.

League: Tord 1-1 VMA IKShould have won this one as well but a point isn't the worst thing in the world. VMA IK took an early lead but Isaac Blixt equalised midway through the 2nd half. They then got a man sent off in the 79th min but we failed to capitalise on it.

League: Tord 1-1 SmedbyAnother disappointing draw as our performance deserved the win. Smedby made us pay for all our missed chances by scoring the opening goal and they would have taken all the points had Thomas Jonsson (YP4) not slid in to score a late equaliser.

League: Ljungby 2-1 TordAfter our recent form I thought this would be a walk in the park against bottom team Ljungby how wrong I was. They scored early on but Svahn equalised just 4 mins later. After our equaliser Ljungby always looked more likely to grab the winner, which they did with 11 mins to go.

League: Tord 2-3 LinkopingWe now play 2nd bottom looking to bounce back after a shock defeat. Johan Bystrom (YP2) got us off to a good start with a goal after 11 mins. This lead lasted just 7 mins before Linkoping equalised against the run of play. Joachim Dahlstrom made it 2-1 on the half hour mark after rounding the keeper but this time the lead lasted even less time, just 2 mins before Markus Broman inadvertently put the ball into his own net. In the 2nd half Linkoping played slightly better and managed to grab a late winner to leave us feeling hard done by.

League: Tenhult 3-1 TordAnother defeat to our fierce rivals to end an abyssmal month which has ended any promotion hopes albeit we didn't expect to be promoted in the 1st place anyway. We started really well Dahlstrom's cross leaving Svahn with an easy tap in after 2 mins. It was all downhill from there though and as soon as they grabbed an equaliser in 1st half injury time there was only one way this game was going. Tenhult dominated the 2nd half and could have scored many more than the 3 that they did.

League: Tord 3-1 LindsdalIt looked like we were going to get a 4th straight defeat after we made an awful start, conceding in the process. However we turned it around from a free kick, Funck hoofed it forward over the defence where Isaac Blixt was on hand to volley home. 9 mins later Blixt turned provider, setting up Torstensson to power one into the net from 25 yards. We continued where we left off in the 2nd half, Vibeke hit his shot right at the keeper but it fell kindly for Miodrag Damjanovic (YP3) to seal the points.

League: Nykoping 0-2 Tord\o/ our 1st clean sheet since the opening day (20 games without a clean sheet). It came when I decide to try out Filip Linder (YP6) for his 1st proffesional game as keeper. Made even more special as it was against league leaders, Nykoping, away from home. Admittedly Filip Linder (YP6) had nothing to do as they had no shots on target. Both goals came in the 2nd half, the 1st was a penalty, Robin Ring was fouled in the box but he dusted himself off to score the resulting spot kick. The 2nd goal was much better quality though, it was Arsenal-esque, a great passing move eventually gave Thomas Johnsson (YP4) some space behind the defence. He raced through a coolly slotted it past the keeper.

League: Tord 1-1 Skovde AIKNot a bad end to the season, we went 1-0 down early on but Miodrag Damjanovic (YP3) equalised just before the break. The 2nd half started badly when Andersson got a straight red for a 2 footed sliding challenge from behind. We hung on for the rest of the game to claim a point.

Yer I guess I should be grateful we're not in a relegation playoff again.

Also right after the last league game no less than 6 players claimed they were unhappy due to wanting to move to bigger clubs, including 1 player twice. I've managed to convince them to stay but I'm not sure for how long.

A much improved season, for the 1st half we looked like we could even get promoted but we lost our form towards the end. Even so it was still a succesful season as we were predicted to finish bottom.

Player/s of the Season

Petter Vibeke (ST) - Only scored twice in his 17 appearances but it was his assists which made him the best player of the season, racking up 13 in 17 games.

Isaac Blixt (MC) - 4 goals with a further 5 assists for the ever present midfielder, was integral in the middle of the pitch.

Youth Players

Anton Alvefelt (YP1) (DR) - Already started to become 1st choice right back and occasionally left back due to the incompetence of the current left and right backs. Didn't perform too badly this season but there is room for improvement.

Johan Bystrom (YP2) (ST) - A fantastic season for him, the clubs top scorer with 10 in 20 games, very promising for a 17 year old

Miodrag Damjanovic (YP3) (ST) - Didn't get as many opportunities as he should have due to the number of strikers at the club at the moment. Still 4 goals in 11 appearances isn't bad especially as 8 of them were from the bench.

Tony Thoren (YP5) (DC) - A very good season for him, well except for the red card he got.

Filip Linder (YP6) (GK) - Only made 2 appearances although he did manage to get 50% of our clean sheets in that time. With Kim Karlsson (or 1st choice keeper) continually asking to leave I may promote this youngster to the starting line up.

Finances - not a good season for the money side of things as wages almost doubled due to greedy players. By the time the new season begins we will have made a loss for the season. Hopefully our good performances will get us a better sponsorship deal.

Finances - not a good season for the money side of things as wages almost doubled due to greedy players. By the time the new season begins we will have made a loss for the season. Hopefully our good performances will get us a better sponsorship deal.

The sponsorship deal was a disaster so I have had to take drastic measures to cut my losses, this includes signing a new contract for £1/week (the lowest possible). I also asked the board for a parent club but I will only use them for the money and will not accept any players on loan from them.

Kim Karlsson (GK) - £2K - Skelleftea - Decided to sell him due to his constant complaining and ridiculously high wage.

Markus Broman (DC) - Free - Alvik - Wasn't performing well and due to the new sponsor deal I can't afford to keep him.

Joachim Dahlstrom (ST) - Free - Linkoping - Sad to have to let him go but £300/week is way more than I can afford especially as I have plenty of strikers coming through the youth system. He has gone to a team in the same league which means he will score against me guaranteed.

The new youth intake was awful but I am hoping that they will get better as the season goes on.

Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) (ST) - Report - Another striker, but apparently he has potential to be really good. I don't think he is actually from this year's youth batch but he has improved greatly over the last few seasons.

So we have a very bare squad of just 20 players, 7 of which are strikers yet we are still losing 5-6k a month. Any ideas on how to save money are welcomed but I think I am fighting a losing battle.

Tough second season there when you started so well. Is the money issue gonna be a problem as you go forward?

Yep it definately is, I have had to sell a few of the biggest earners of the squad so I think we have a much weaker team than last season. However since it is mostly young players we should improve in a few seasons. I think the only way to solve the money problem is to get promoted as quickly as possible because I will be losing money every season if I stay in this division.

Originally Posted by Romanista1994

The only way to make money as a very small club is friendlies against the largest teams you can find.

You had a pretty good season there, certainly a big improvement on the previous year. Bystrom is starting to look quite good, possibly the clubs' saviour?

Thanks, I really hope he will be but hes had a shocking start to the season although to be fair so has everyone as you'll soon see. At the moment he is fairly inconsistent sometimes you wonder how he's scored 11 in 26 at the club but there are games when you watch his partnership with Petter Vibeke and it's like watching Chelsea (excluding Liverpool game where we were ****)

Swedish Cup Preliminary Round: Tord 2-3 VMA IKffs I was hoping a cup run could generate a bit of income but it was not to be as we were harshly dumped out of the cup at the 1st hurdle. Despite dominating the match from start to finish we managed to concede 3 goals from 3 shots, not a great start for Filip Linder (YP6) who starts his 1st full season as no. 1 choice keeper. VMA IK took an early lead but Linus Torstensson canceled it out on the half hour mark. Then came the sucker punch right on the half time whistle VMA IK retook the lead. I thought it was game over when they then added a 3rd half way through the 2nd half but we hit back immediately to reduce the defecit back to 1, Vibeke latching on to P.Linares's cross. We had 2 or 3 good chances to equalise the best falling to Vibeke who shot from 25 yards against the bar in the 92nd min.

League: Tord 1-2 VimmerbyOh Dear. We started off well Svahn turning and shooting from just outside the area into the top corner to put us 1-0 up. But from then on it couldn't have gone worse. They equalised 15 mins later before taking the lead just after half time. In the 65th min Robin Ring got a straight red for tripping their attacker who was through on goal. They could have added a 3rd but missed a penalty 10 mins from time.

League: Smedby 2-0 TordAnother awful showing not only did we concede twice, lose and get outplayed for 90 mins but we also picked up 6 bookings. This annoys me so much because I never normally get loads of bookings in fm and I am proud that my team isn't a bunch of fouling, diving (insert swear word here). After the match I ripped into my players, fining anyone who got a booking and a central defender who had managed to get a 3.6 rating!!!! Luckily no one got upset about me fining them unfairly, although I did only fine them a weeks wages which for some of them is less than a tenner.

League: Tord 1-1 FC GuteLooked like my attack on my players worked as we were muched improved but still couldn't find the win. Luck was not on our side today especially when they scored the opener which was a few yards offside. We responded well in the 2nd half with Thomas Jonsson (YP4) getting the equaliser but we just couldn't get the winner.

League: Kenty 1-1 TordWe just cannot buy a win, we again dominated the match and deservedly took the lead from a fantastic goalby Johan Bystrom (YP2) who showed what he is capable of doing. But with the last few kicks of the game Kenty equalised as our winless run continues to 6 in all comps.

League: Tord 1-1 NybroAnother match we should have won but didn't. Isaac Blixt netted in the 21st min for us to take the lead but Nybro were level 10 mins later. As we pushed on for a winner they went down to 10 men for the last 15 mins yet still we couldn't score.

League: Tenhult 1-2 TordWhat a match to win against our rivals. Hopefully this will kickstart our season. It was a fantastic match for the neutrals with both sides attacking from the off. Thankfully we also came out on top of it as well. Isaac Blixt free kick found Svahn unmarked to head home in the 18th min. But as has been the case too many times this season we lost the lead just a few mins later. Then 3 mins before half time Tostensson put through Svahn whose shot was pushed into the path of Vibeke via the keeper who tapped home to give us a 2-1 win.

League: Tord 3-1 LinkopingWe were dreadful in the 1st half which is surprising as I expected the rival win to motivate the players. To make matters worse we wnet 1-0 down 5 mins before half time. In the 2nd half we were a completely different team, Svahn set Johan Bystrom (YP2) through on goal who then crossed to the unmarked Vibeke to tap into an empty net. Johan Bystrom (YP2) was the creator of the 2nd goal as well, his cross hit a few defenders before falling kindly for Svahn to blast into the top corner. Finally to end things Vibeke scored an amazing solo goal, somehow squeezing his shot past 3 defenders and a keeper.

League: KB Karlskoga 2-3 TordLooking to extend our winning run against league whipping boys Karlskoga. 1st half went okay, both teams were pretty even only separated by an Isaac Blixt strike in injury time. However Karlskoga were level inside 15 seconds of the 2nd half. We upped our game after that and deservedly took the lead in the 64th min, Johan Bystrom (YP2) putting Svahn through on goal, which he then converted. It looked like we had blown it when they equalised in the 87th min, an attempted cross somehow beating our keeper at the near post. But in the 89th min Johan Bystrom (YP2) raced past the defence and finished well past the keeper to give us the 3 points.

League: Tord 3-1 VMA IKRevenge for our cup defeat this time the result matched the performance. Svahn got us off to a great start with a 25 yarder which was soon made better when Torstensson did a carbon copy of it 10 mins later. Disaster struck in the 25th min when Robin Ring got himself a straight red and gave away a penalty which they duly scored. However we more than held our own and were probably the better team despite the man disadvantage. Johan Bystrom (YP2) demonstrated this by ending a 40 yard run with a great finish to make it 3-1 in the 82nd min.

League: Skovde AIK 2-0 TordOur unbeaten streak comes to an abrupt end as we were completely outplayed by the league leaders. Didn't help that we got a 2nd red card in as many games when Viktor Gunarsson was given his marching orders 4 mins before half time.

League: Tord 0-0 Motala AIFQuite incredibly only our 2nd clean sheet in the last 34 competitive matches. But that was overshadowed by the fact we didn't score and that we got another red card, making it 3 in 3 now

League: Vimmerby 1-0 TordDisappointed but deserved. Vimmerby were the better team but only just. Again we conceded right before half time which seems to be a recurring theme this season. We were still in with a chance to nick a point right until the very end thanks to Vimmerby missing a penalty in the 2nd half to go two up.

League: Tord 1-0 SmedbyA generally good performance, Johan Bystrom (YP2) combining well with Vibeke allowing the latter to slip the ball past the keeper. However there were some negatives. Robin Ring is really starting to annoy me now, needless fouls given away and gaining stupid cards. He managed to get himself sent off again for the 3rd time this season with 2 bookings in 2 mins. 1 more sending off this season and he's out because he is really starting to frustrate me.

League: FC Gute 4-0 TordJust a bad day at the office really. We were dreadful for the whole 90 mins. I will leave it at that because the less spoken about this the better.

League: Tord 2-1 KentyA good comeback win but we didn't half make it tough for ourselves. Johan Bystrom (YP2) scored the opener in the 10th min when a freekick hoofed into the box was headed down by Vibeke into a bunch of players where it fell kindly for Bystrom to prod home. Kenty made it worse for themselves when one of their players did a very good Robin Ring impression by getting 2 yellows in a matter of minutes. Despite this man advantage we still managed to concede before half time. It increasingly looked like we had wasted a chance for an easy win until the 87th min when Vibeke turned his man and shot, the keeper parried but only into Johan Bystrom (YP2)'s path. He made no mistake to get his 2nd of the match.

League: Nybro 0-0 TordA bore draw. Nybro were probably the better team but they failed to capitalise on their superiority.

League: Tord 3-0 Tenhult Nothing like a thrashing of your rivals to cheer you up. Vibeke put Johan Bystrom (YP2) through on goal in the 25th min who made it 1-0. Then in the 2nd half Tony Thoren (YP5) powered home a header from a free kick. Johan Bystrom (YP2) sealed it by a finishing a great counter attack which all started with our keeper rolling the ball out to the left back. To be honest we could have had as many as 6 or 7 but i'll take the 3.

League: Linkoping 1-0 Tordthweihpg2uty9bvn;p4hguofw; - That's me bashing my head on the keyboard at the most frustrating match ever. We dominated from start to finish, creating plenty of chances but never finishing them, getting 3 or 4 penalty appeals turned down and when we did get one Robin Ring missed it. They then scored the only goal of thye game in the 85th min and then to cap it off Robin Ring got himself his 4th red card of the season thus ensuring his exit from the club ASAP. I would rather play with 10 men than have him in the team although to be fair thats what it normally ends up like when he comes on.

League: Tord 3-1 KB KarlsrogaWe rebounded from the frustrating last match with a fantastic performance against bottom club Karlsroga. Svahn set through Johan Bystrom (YP2), who timed his run to perfection, and shot it in off the post after just 3 mins. Svahn became provider once again when he slipped in Thomas Jonsson (YP4) who finished well into the bottom corner. We didn't have to wait long for a 3rd, Johan Bystrom (YP2) curled in an efforf from 25 yards. Karlsroga got a goal back a few mins later but we ran out easy winners. This result almost certainly securing ourselves in this division for another season.

haha thanks yeh was a bit of a shock but i wont complain, seem to have a thing of beating the prem teams.

btw great work on your season coming along nicley now.

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Slowly inching up the table there

Thanks, Im hopeful we can keep this form going for the last few games of this season and next season as well. So far we have either performed well at the start and got worse or started badly and got better. Just need to stay consistent for a whole season.

Originally Posted by prayer

I like it more :d Go Chelmsford!

Both Chelmsford and St Albans survived in BSP and are doing well at the start of this season.

I will be doing a Roll of Honour in a few seasons time but I won't be doing all the leagues I loaded. Probably just the top divisions in each of the nations.

League: VMA IK 2-1 TordWe played extremely well for 89 mins with Svahn giving us the lead in the 1st half. But we conceded in the 89th min and 92nd min toshockingly lose the match.

League: Tord 2-1 Skovde AIKThe signs didn't look good for us this match, playing top of the league and they had the best away record. Also this match meant nothing to us except a few places in the table whereas it could decide the title for Skovde. However we came away with a shock win . Thomas Jonsson (YP4) scored our 1st by heading home at the near post from a corner. We doubled the lead when Tony Thoren (YP5) tucked away a penalty. Skoved got 1 back with 20 mins to go but we hung on to a fantastic win.

League: Motala AIF 1-3 TordWell it seems like we only play when there is nothing to play for. Another fantastic performance and result which saw us climb 3 places to 3rd as well. Tony Thoren (YP5) gave us the lead in the 23rd min but it was quickly cancelled out by Motala. Then just 25 seconds into the 2nd half Miodrag Damjanovic (YP3) made it 2-1 thanks to a great assist by Svahn. Damjanovic repayed the favour by setting up Svahn for the 3rd to seal victory.

We started off woefully but as the season wore on we went from strength to strength and in the end we weren't too far off top spot. We also capped it off by doing the double over our rivals, Tenhult, which saw them get relegated.

Swedish Cup

For the 1st time we were entered into the Swedish Cup where we unlucky knocked out in the preliminary round to VMA IK.

Anton Alvefelt (YP1) (DR) - Had an awful season, didn't help that he got a couple of bad injuries along the way.

Johan Bystrom (YP2)(ST) - Was rubbish at the start but during the 2nd half of the season he really showed what he could do.

Miodrag Damjanovic (YP3) (ST) - A really bad season which was swamped with injuries, not anything major but it prevented him from get a run in the 1st team.

Thomas Jonsson (YP4) (ST) - Not too bad, still room for improvement but I was generally happy with how he played.

Tony Thoren (YP5) (DC) - Best player in the division going by averaging rating which is quite an achievment and it showed as he won Swedish Second Division East Goteland Defender of the Year Award.

Filip Linder (YP6) (GK) - Not bad, hasn't been able to stop our poor clean sheet record but didn't do anything majorly wrong.

Niklas Andersson (YP7) (GK) - Only had a few games towards the end of the season and incredibly didn't concede a goal in any of the 3 matches he played. Maybe he has a future here.

Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) (ST) - Rated really highly by my assistant for his potential but he didn't show much of it this season. Admittedly chances were limited but he didn't exactly shine in the ones he was given.

Christopher Lindahl (YP9) (DC) - Was overshadowed by Tony Thoren (YP5) all season but he did play his part, not as good as Thoren but still very capably.

Still improving! Could a promotion push be on the cards for next season?

KUTGW!

I really hope so as I have just gone through the ordeal of new contracts and lets just say a few players are getting too big for their boots.

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Great season, slow and steady progress makes for a much more interesting career than instant success

Where do you think your squad is strong/weak at the moment?

One thing, your Squad link goes to the League Graph

Strongest has to be strikers but only because we seem to get one every season (thats good enough for 1st team). Weakest is definately defence although goalkeeper isn't far behind. At least that should make next season more interesting, plenty of goals either end.

Thanks for noticing the screenshot mix up don't know how I managed to do that . Fixed now

As you can see above the board have reduced ticket and season prices for the 2nd year running . Are they trying to get us bankrupt, I am doing everything I can to save money and they are undoing it all. Ticket prices have gone from £7.70 --> £6.50 (16% decrease) and Season ticket prices have gone from £62.20 --> £51.60 (17% decrease) in 2 years. In these same 2 years I have had to cut my wages from £2,438/week to £1,617/week (34% cut).

To put his into persepective some players on teams in the same division are on £1k/week+ contracts.

Another example: Panellinos who are predicted to finish 11th cover my whole wage budget with their 2 highest earning players. Considering this is from a team who have only just got promoted into this division, they were in the 5th tier the season before!!!

Swedish Cup Preliminary Round: Nike 1-3 TordAt of all the teams it could have been we had to draw Nike, coincidence? Johan Bystrom (YP2) gave us the lead in the 7th min with a fine finish from the edge of the area. However Nike were level on the stroke of half time. In the 2nd half Johan Bystrom (YP2) continued to impress as he set up Heinonen to retake the lead. Then in the 85th min we countered a Nike attack with Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) and Johan Bystrom (YP2) clear through on the keeper, the former unselfishly crossed for the latter for an easy tap in.

Swedish Cup 1st Round: Tord 0-1 VimmerbyWe started off badly and conceded almost straight away but overall we deserved at least the draw. Cup run over now for the league.

League: Nybro 2-3 TordMaybe a sign our luck is changing, we managed to win a very even game. Svahn scored after a perfectly timed run which saw him beat the offside trap in the 27th min. Then just after half time a long hoof upfield somehow got Fredrik Bjork (YP12) through on goal and he scored with a great finish. Nybro's comeback looked to be on when they got 1 back in the 62nd min but almost immediately Johan Bystrom (YP2) restored our 2 goal lead. Nybro then scored again in the 84th min to set up a nervy finish but we held on to get off to a winning start.

League: Skovde AIK 3-0 TordOh dear. We were probably the better team as well. Te difference between us was they took their chances we wasted ours.

League: Tord 3-0 Panellinios2 in 7 mins in the 1st half put us on our way, firstly Blixt scored from a 30 yard free kick. Then Calle Ewald (YP11) on his debut whipped in an inch perfect ball for Johan Bystrom (YP2) to slot home. The game was wrapped up in the 84th min, Gustavsson firing home from a corner. Johan Bystrom (YP2)'s goal saw him level the clubs top league scorer record with 23 goals.

League: Tord 2-1 SmedbyWe started off extremely well, pressure from Fredrik Bjork (YP8) caused their defender to put into his own net. Then on the quarter of an hour mark, Gustavsson powered a header home from a corner. Smedby did get one back late on but never looked like getting another.

League: Annelund 1-3 TordJohan Bystrom (YP2) opened the scoring, also making him the clubs highest league scorer ever. He headed home from Andersson's cross. It looked like we were cruising it but not getting the 2nd goal proved costly as Annelund scored from their only shot on target in the match. Luckily we had a late fight back Svahn and Torstensson scoring within 2 mins of each other to seal a deserved victory.

League: Tord 0-0 LinkopingReally should ahve made it 4 wins in a row but again poor finishing cost us.

League: Tord 1-0 KopingIt looked like we had wasted another chance to win. That was until Fredrik Bjork (YP12) collected a clearance from one of our defenders and ran past 2 of their defenders before smashing his shot in off the underside of the bar with 13 mins remaining. 2 clean sheets in a row as well, what is this madness?

League: Motala AIF 0-0 TordWe should have won this really, but chance after chance passed us by. Our stint in 1st place has ended very prematurely .

League: Tord 4-3 VMA IKFantastic game which we deserved to absolutely thrash them but it was one of those games where every opposition shot found the back of the net. We got off to an awful start, finding ourselves 2-0 down inside 8 mins. But Fredrik Bjork (YP12) turned on the style to draw us level, his 1st was from 25 yards into the bottom corner. His 2nd was from a cross by P. Linares where he took a touch before prodding past the keeper. Our parity didn't last long though as they scored their 3rd 2 mins after our equaliser. We completly dominated the 2nd half and finally got another equaliser which our play deserved when Andersson's inch perfect cross was met by the head of Johan Bystrom (YP2). We took the lead in the 74th min, a quick counter attack which ended with Svahn crossing for Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) to tap home from a yard out.

League: Tord 0-0 KentyShould have won this one but it looked like we used up all our attacking quality in the last match. This result was extra disappointing as Kenty are one of the teams challenging for the title this season.

League: FC Gute 3-0 TordWe were just dreadful, I don't know what happened. FC Gute could have had many more than 3 as well. We are still only a point away from the top at the halfway stage.

I also made the decision to sell Petter Vibeke, yes he was good for us but his wage of £300/week was too much so he will leave on the 1st of July.

League: Tord 2-0 Skovde AIKA good win to bounceback from our heavy defeat to FC Gute l;ast time out. Svahn got our 1st midway through the 1st half when he headed home from a free kick. Fredrik Bjork (YP12) sealed the win with a very good finish despite being under pressure from two defenders.

League: Panellinos 1-1 TordDisappointing draw to one of the league's relegation candidates. We conceded right on the stroke of half time which really took it out of us but a Panellinos red card gave us the belief and energy we needed to get something from the game. Fredrik Bjork (YP12) continued his run of good form by sliding home to get us an 89th min leveller.

League: Tord 1-0 NybroNot a great performance but it'll do. Fredrik Bjork (YP12) netting his 6th in 8 games with his customary bottom corner finish from the edge of the box.

League: Smedby 1-3 TordAnother good performance which saw us reclaim top spot by a solitary point. Fredrik Bjork (YP12) did not get on the scoresheet however he did set up Heinonen for our 1st. We had to wait till the 2nd half to seal the 3 points, Svahn doing so in the 74th min. The icing on the cake came 2 mins later where we scored from the play that started with the kick off. Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) firing an unstoppable shot into the top corner. They did get a consolation in the 84th min but overall it was an easy win for us.

Very nice thread, can you think of a country in which you could actually do this challenge starting from first season? instantly playing the youth

I'm not too sure. It would have to be a country which has pretty poor leagues in it and quite a few tiers.

I chose Sweden because it's leagues have low rep and 4 tiers which means that at the bottom tier the players are most likely going to be rubbish so youth players can just go straight into the 1st team. Northern Ireland may be another choice although some teams don't have any youth facilities and therefore don't get any youth players coming through.

When/if a file for the English leagues down to level 8 or 10 comes out you could do it with a team from there.

League: Tord 2-1 AnnelundA good win against one of the better sides in the division. Johan Bystrom (YP2) opened the scoring in the 32nd min from a Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) cross. He then doubled our lead in the 65th min with a great strike into the top corner. Annelund got a goal back in the 84th min but after a nervy few mins we held on to claim the win.

League: Linkoping 1-3 TordThe win was set up by a fantastic start to the match, P.Linares crossed for Svahn to score a diving header from 18 yards in the 5th min. The 2nd came in the 13th min when Johan Bystrom (YP2)'s cross found Tostensson who fired in at the near post. Johan Bystrom (YP2) made it 3-0 just after half time before Linkoping got a late consolation.

League: Koping 1-1 TordWe got off to a fantastic start, Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) scoring after 30 seconds, making it the quickest Tord goal ever. However we never got a 2nd which allowed Koping to always have a chance in the game. They took that chance in the 70th min to level and thus we are knocked off top spot.

League: Tord 5-1 Motala AIFA fantastic win and just the morale boost we need as we play 2nd and 3rd in the next 2 games. Anton Alvefelt (YP1)'s 40 yard free kick picked out Svahn perfectly to head home after 4 mins. 6 mins later Tord and Svahn had a 2nd, Svahn started the move off with a powerful run down the middle before passing out wide to Andersson who whipped in a cross which Svahn scored with his 1st touch. Then on the stroke of half time Heinonen's 30 yard shot was spilled by Motala's keeper right into Fredrik Karlsson (YP8)'s path for him to add a 3rd. It was more of the same in the 2nd half as Anton Alvefelt (YP1) crossed for Fredrik Karlsson (YP8) to add his 2nd of the match. Motala got 1 back in the 62nd min but it was very much too little too late. Svahn managed to get his hat trick in the 70th min to also make this Tord's biggest win ever before having to go off injured.